This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Blue Jays plan to move spring training to Palm Beach Gardens in Florida is a good one: Griffin

The Jays and Astros are 95 per cent to move into a yet-to-be-constructed site in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., as early as 2016.

The Blue Jays have held spring training in Dunedin since 1977, but that may soon be coming to an end. Reports have Toronto and the Astros sharing a new spring training site in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
(RICK MADONIK / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

The politicians of Florida have promised it — and, hey, when has that ever not worked out as truth?

According to the websites TCPalm.com and mlb.com, the Blue Jays and Astros are 95 per cent to join forces in moving to a yet-to-be-constructed site in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., as early as 2016.

This will happen with the benefit of $100 million (U.S.) in taxpayer money — half that from the state and the other half from local levels, paid out over 38 years, starting in 2015. The Astros have been training in Kissimmee since 1985, while the Jays have trained in Dunedin since 1977.

“The Blue Jays have committed and signed a letter of intent, so we’re ready to move forward,” Astros owner Jim Crane told mlb.com. “That thing should be buttoned up hopefully by the end of October. We’ll get that stadium built and it will be a fabulous new facility in Palm Beach Gardens.”

As for the Florida government’s part in this plan, they have watched closely over the past decade as major league teams have abandoned Florida for lucrative, publicly funded deals in Arizona. There are currently four teams still holdling spring training on the east coast of Florida. The Cardinals and Marlins share a beautiful facility in Jupiter; the Mets are in Port St. Lucie and the Nationals are up the coast a couple of hours north in Viera, near Cocoa Beach.

Article Continued Below

The incentive here for the state government to hand over that much money to privately owned teams is that Florida relies heavily on tourism. Also, there is an escape clause in its contracts with the Mets and Cardinals, that if there are three or fewer teams left on the east coast then they can opt out and move to Arizona. So by adding the Astros and Jays, it solidifies that MLB count at six.

Keeping Florida spring training strong is a priority for Gov. Rick Scott, who has the ability to veto any such deal. The government decision is expected by the end of next week.

“Two of the franchises that are looking to do a stadium made a proposal that additional funds were necessary,” Rep. Ritch Workman (R-Melbourne) told TCPalm.com at the joint House-Senate Finance and Tax conference committee. “I think (it’s a done deal). I got that impression.”

The belief here is that Jays fans should look forward to the move as a step forward. But I know that for long-time supporters, there will be dissenting opinion.

REASONS TO STAY IN DUNEDIN

1. Tradition. There have been fans from Day 1 of the franchise who plan their spring vacations around trips to Dunedin. To those fans, this is an integral part of the Jays’ experience.

2. Familiarity. There are the quaint restaurants in downtown Dunedin, the lineups for the bridges to Clearwater Beach, the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs, Lightning NHL games, Ybor City, etc.

3. Cost of living. There is no doubt that once you get north of Gulf to Bay on the Clearwater side of Courtney Campbell Causeway, the cost of living plummets. It’s really quite affordable. Hotels, restaurants, golf, all of it. This is a cost certainty that many Toronto fans appreciate.

4. Roots. The Jays have been in Dunedin for 37 straight springs. Many fans and others attached to the club have purchased homes or have invested in long-term rental properties. Many current players and ex-players, part of team history, own homes in the Tampa Bay area. It will be tough to uproot.

REASONS TO MOVE TO P.B. GARDENS

1. Travel. The major north-south roots of I-95 (not named after J.P. Arencibia’s average) and the Florida Turnpike blow past the location of the new Jays/Astros complex and allow for travel to hotels from as far south as Boca Raton. There will be five teams within a 30-minute drive.

2. New Demographics. Judging from the vibrant young fan base that has taken to the road during the season — young and loud, dominating and brash at many MLB away parks, the quaintness of Dunedin and vicinity represents the past to the new and very important Jays’ fan demographic.

3. Revenue streams. Class-A Dunedin, the Jays’ fully owned affiliate in the Florida State League, is an attendance disaster once the Jays have left town. For Jays fans there is not enough parking, the minor-league complex is miles away from the major-league camp and concessions and souvenir sales are conducted out of a makeshift store. TV production facilities are below par.

4. Non-baseball attractions. In the 20 hours each day that fans are not watching baseball, there is much more to do, especially for the young professional, the new demographic that flocks south for spring training. Fifteen minutes east along PGA Boulevard, past huge shopping malls and countless restaurants, takes you onto Singer Island to scores of more reasonable hotels and motels and one of the finest public beaches in Florida. There is the dazzling nightlife of Palm Beach, day trips to Nassau, a two-hour drive to South Beach and golf courses are everywhere.

So there will be initial resistance from long-time Jays fans, but what is the Jays’ tradition anymore?

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com